USA Advances

Just like in 2010 and 2014, the USA advanced to the Round of 16 with a thrilling/nervous 1-0 victory over Iran. They advanced despite only scoring two goals in three games. But it counts. 

I made a chart to show what kind of teams have advanced in 3 of the last 4 Cups. 

First thing that leaps out at me. Italy zero. USA three.

Okay, let's do a proper deep dive. 

Over the last 4 World Cups, here are the teams to advance to the Knockout Round at least twice, sorted by tiers:

4 Times

Argentina

Brazil

3 Times

England

France

Japan

Mexico

Netherlands

Portugal

Spain

Switzerland

Uruguay

USA

2 Times

Belgium

Chile

Colombia

Croatia

Germany

South Korea

That's absolutely wild. By this measure of recent and consistent World Cup success, Brazil and Argentina stand alone. Then there are 10 countries in the next tier. And then another 6 in the conversation. 

USA doing better than Germany, Belgium and Italy. That's nuts.

We'll be longshots against Netherlands, but that's okay. I'll take this over not making out of the group any year.